William's 6th Birthday

On Sunday William officially turned 6!  We came home, had a snack, and then William got to open a few more gifts.

They also played with his new paw patrol toys from his party.  I don't know why, but these toys entertain all 5 of my children simultaneously, which is just phenomenal.  They are right up there with Legos and Playdoh!

After dinner, we finally were able to get a cake with burning candles for William!

I think he had a very special birthday!  On Monday he brought some Scooby Doo cookies to share with this friends. = )

Happy Birthday William!

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You can check out his birthday survey answers here.

William's 6th Birthday Party

William wanted to have his birthday party at the bowling alley again this year, so we sent out some Scooby Doo bowling invitations for his special day.

He had lots of friends show up this year, Vivi (and her siblings, one of whom is in Emily's class, and another in Alice's!) and her twin, Nick (from William's class last year) and his brother, Jordan, Bryce, and Aby and her sister (who is also in Emily's class.)  Needless to say, everyone had a fun time!

They had two lanes of bowling going on, but there was still a little bit of wait time.  The pizza was a big hit, and we let them eat while the game was going to help break things up.

They all did really well taking turns though.

After bowling, it was time to sing happy birthday.  I forgot to pack the candles = (  So he didn't have fire while we sang to him.

Cake was fairly quick, and so William had time to open his presents at the bowling alley!

This was the best picture I managed of William and Vivi, though they spent quite a bit of time together.

It was so much fun to have everyone out to celebrate our boy!  He had a fun time, and we only had one cancellation, despite the snow! Thank you everyone for making his party special.

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William Answers his Birthday Survey, 6 years old

William's birthday was last Sunday, so we took these pictures Saturday night, to document his final night as a 5 year old!

Then, the next afternoon, on his birthday, he opened gifts from Enisi and Edudi and from Mutti and Daddy.

Our new 6 year old:

I am 5, I mean 6 years old.
My favorite color is: green
The coolest person on earth is: me
The thing I do best is: play on my computer
If I could change my name, it would be: cookie - yummy
My favorite toy is: paw patrol submarine (from vivi)
When I grow up, I want to be: An Ice Cream Truck Driver
I like to watch: paw patrol
My favorite song is: paw patrol theme song
My favorite book is: Scooby Doo
3 words to describe me are: equal, William, robloxer
When I was little, I used to: play on my tablet
My favorite season is: Christmas
The food I like most is: candy
One food I really don't like is: mashed potatoes
My best friend is: Vivi
For my birthday I want to: go bowling
My best memory is: all the memories

You can check out his answers from last year here.

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All the other things

I should really make it a priority to document events as they happen.  Lumping them all together like this seems to make them less important.  That's not the case at all!   I just feel like I'm flying through 2018.

I preordered the big kids' pictures.  I heard someone say if you don't like them and you pre-ordered you can send your child back for retake day?  Is that true?  Is there a social connotation to it: like is it rude to the photographer?

I loved Grace's school picture, but was not a fan of Juliet's.  It felt wrong to only order grace's so I didn't order any.  Maybe this spring?

My MOPS table went out for a mom's night out at Applebee's.  It was so relaxing to just sit and talk without interruption.  4 hours a month is never enough!

We have had leaves and leaves and more leaves.  I've been trying to mulch them once a week, and the kids fuss at me every time I do, like there aren't a million more about to fall.

Grace enjoying some hot tea on a cold day.

Billy had a test that required anesthesia, so I was his designated driver.

Afterwards he was pretty unsteady on his feet, so we went to an old school drive in nearby (Lansing is a giant Sonic void. = ( )

The twins 'love' their new Pajamas.

We enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Eaton's house, and wrapped up the evening with a game of clue.  Billy won!

I got to do the Tom the Turkey activity with Grace and Juliet!  I feel so fulfilled.  Grace wanted tom to hide as a present, and Juliet hid him in/under a rainbow. = )

How the twins nap in the car:

We also had a lovely Saturday game day with the Pritchards, but didn't take a single picture!  It was a fun day too. And the kids loved having their friends over for hours and hours. = )

life is good.

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William's 6th Birthday Party Invitation

Sunday will be William's 6th birthday!  He wanted a Scooby Doo bowling party, so these are what we sent out to his classmates.

Looking forward to celebrating our little boy tomorrow!

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The First Snow

Today was our first snow of the winter. They've been calling for it all week, so last night we tried on snow boots, to make our morning as smooth as possible.

It wasn't thick on the ground when we woke up, but by the time the kids finished their morning routine it was sticking pretty well.

Juliet was the first one ready and so excited to play!

Emily was next, and started on her snowman.

It didn't take long before everyone was out helping build the snowman.

Team Lift!

The head kind of fell apart when they placed it.

We have some accessories, but we were out of time, so a naked snowman had to do for today.

The big piles of snow survived the day, but the rest of the snow melted (the best kind of snow...)

This snow came almost an entire month before our first snow last year, here's hoping winter will end a little earlier next year.

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Frankenmuth

For my birthday this year, my mom watched our little ones so that Billy and I could go away for a quick overnight stay in Frankenmuth!

It's called "little Bavaria" and while I was skeptical, I now approve of the name.  German, German everywhere!

The first stop was the self proclaimed "largest Christmas store in the world."  This place is amazing. Seriously.

They even had Tech ornaments!!

We stayed at the Bavarian Inn, because it looks cool, and we wanted to know if it would be worth planning a family vacation there;  Yes, yes it would.

The Bavarian Inn restaurant is across the river from the hotel.  There are restaurants in the hotel as well, but not the one of the same name.

It was a cold walk.

In the hallway leading from the river entrance to the restaurant there was a hallway with a concise history of Michigan.   I loved this picture because it showed how the mom hung outside with the kids so that they don't destroy anything inside/get too loud/complain about being bored/embarrass her.  I guess humanity doesn't really ever change.

Saw this cute little picture opportunity and missed my dear ones.

It wouldn't' really be little Bavaria without boasting their soccer team support!

We found a cool door, but it was locked.

A nifty collectible plate display:

We made it!

A hello kitty tree. = )

Heading to the cheese Haus.

After we left, we happened onto an escape room.  Since it was early on a Friday afternoon, they had an opening in 20 minutes.  We signed up and then walked around for just a bit to waste the time.

Picture on a very German bench.

We went back in, and the game we prepared. Our puzzle was a mob themed event set during America's prohibition. After a quick intro, we were left to solve the mystery.  It was soooo much fun.  A giant puzzle with a bunch of little puzzles inside.    We were successful in escaping!

Once we finished at the escape the room, it was late enough to check in to our hotel.

We had a glass door that was directly off of the adult only swimming pool and hot tub (we actually used it too!)

We set out to explore the resort.

We played a round of indoor mini-golf.

For dinner we went to the lounge and shared a pizza.  They had some kids games going on until 8, then they were supposed to have live entertainment.  We didn't make it until 8, but did order a couple of  root beer floats in fancy light up blinking cups! = )

It was an early bedtime after a super fun day.

We were up early the next morning.  We had breakfast in the ratskeller (think cafeteria, not bar, though there was a bar tucked away in the corner.)  Then bought some souvenirs and checked out.

We headed back to the Bavarian Inn restaurant center to do a little more shopping.  They had a chocolate counter that we patronized, because you know, we don't have any candy in the house...

From there we went to N'orlins coffee and beignets, though we weren't hungry.  We decided to check out the mirror maze.  It was very fun.  I can't wait to bring the kids there!  They also have a laser challenge that the older three will really enjoy I think.

We did watch part of the Glockenspiel show.  It was the pied-piper of Hamelin (In English.)  It was just too cold, so we didn't finish it.

When we got home, Lots of helpers made my birthday cake!

And after dinner lots of helpers ate my birthday cake.

It was such a fun birthday!  36 is looking good so far.

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